1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf simulation and, more particularly, to an improved golf simulator which increases the number of players simultaneously using a simulator, thereby reducing the time taken to play a simulated round of golf by more than one player.
2. Prior Art
Prior art golf simulator systems provide a simulator booth which includes a "tee" area and a projection screen. A golfer hits a golf ball from the tee area towards the projection screen. The tee area has tees and mats for simulating tee and fairway surfaces. The tee area has sensors for determining the speed, direction, and spin of a golf ball. This requires a golfer to stand in a tee area and hit a golf ball towards the projection screen on which is projected a view of the hole from various places along a simulated fairway. The views projected correspond to those that the golfer would view from the position where the golfer's ball lies after the ball is hit.
In the past, golf simulator booths were configured so that only one player at a time can set up and play a ball from approximately the center of the simulator booth. The width of the booth was wide enough so that only one golfer could hit either as a right-handed or as a left-handed player.
What has been observed in current and past golf simulators is that an average foursome typically takes four hours or more to complete 18 holes of golf. This time is not much different than that taken for outside golf on a real course. Because three players of the foursome can only watch and wait, the slow play on a simulator leads to frustration and has a negative impact on the performance of the players.
On a real golf course, after teeing off, the golfers in a foursome typically disperse to various areas of the fairway and play the simulated course in a "parallel" fashion. By this is meant that each member of the foursome can individually progress toward the green. Each of the players in this parallel fashion can separately plan, setup, execute, and savor their next shot, while the other players are doing the same. They all converge again at the green and on the next tee area. Typically, except for the tee and green areas, golfers on a real golf course progress in this parallel fashion towards the green. The players must "serially" strike their balls only at the tee and on the putting green. Even on the tee and on the putting green, the players to some extent can do some individual preparation prior to teeing off or putting.
In present golf simulators, all of the playing partners must wait while the player currently on the tee goes through a sequence of activities. The activities include viewing the terrain, planning the shot, selecting an appropriate club, setting up the shot, hitting the shot, watching the ball fly, and savoring the shot. The simulator then determines which player is next up and causes the view on the screen to change from one view to the next view. The next player then repeats the same sequence of activities for the next shot.
In comparison with play on a real golf course, this "serial" use of the simulator by only one player at a time slows play and the pace of the game. It also wastes time and causes frustration for the waiting players. While it might be expected that playing a round of golf on a golf simulator would be significantly faster than on a real golf course, in practice it has been found that the "serial" use of a simulator by a group of players causes play to be much slower than desired. For commercial establishments, it is desirable to have the highest possible throughput, that is, have as many players as possible using the simulator per hour. Because of the high capital investment and ongoing expenses for booth space required for a simulator system, merely duplicating simulator booths is not a viable economic solution because it does not speed up play for a group of golfers playing together.
Consequently, the need has arisen for a golf simulator system which has increased player throughput and efficient utilization of space, while still maintaining the quality of play.